Chapter 111

Syn. -- Attitude , Posture . Both of these words describe the visible disposition of the limbs. Posture relates to their position merely; attitude refers to their fitness for some specific object. The object of an attitude is to set forth exhibit some internal feeling; as, attitude of wonder, of admiration, of grief, etc. It is, therefore, essentially and designedly expressive . Its object is the same with that of gesture; viz., to hold forth and represent. Posture has no such design. If we speak of posture in prayer, or the posture of devotion, it is only the natural disposition of the limbs, without any intention to show forth or exhibit.

'T is business of a painter in his choice of attitudes ( positur\'91 ) to foresee the effect and harmony of the lights and shadows. Dryden.

Never to keep the body in the same posture half an hour at a time. Bacon.

Attitudinal <Xpage=99>

At`ti*tu"di*nal (#) , a. Relating to attitude.

Attitudinarian <Xpage=99>

At`ti*tu`di*na"ri*an (#) , n. One who attitudinizes; a posture maker.

Attitudinarianism <Xpage=99>

At`ti*tu`di*na"ri*an*ism (#) , n. A practicing of attitudes; posture making.

Attitudinize <Xpage=99>

At`ti*tu"di*nize (#) , v. i. To assume affected attitudes; to strike an attitude; to pose.

Maria, who is the most picturesque figure, was put to attitudinize at the harp. Hannah More.

Attitudinizer <Xpage=99>

At`ti*tu"di*ni`zer (#) , n One who practices attitudes.

Attle <Xpage=99>

At"tle (#) , n. [Cf. Addle mire.] (Mining) Rubbish or refuse consisting of broken rock containing little or no ore.

Weale.

Attollent <Xpage=99>

At*tol"lent (#) , a. [L. attollens , p. pr. of attollere ; ad + tollere to lift.] Lifting up; raising; as, an attollent muscle .

Derham.

Attonce <Xpage=99>

At*tonce" (#) , adv. [ At + once .] At once; together. [Obs.]

Spenser.

Attone <Xpage=99>

At*tone" (#) , adv. See At one . [Obs.]

Attorn <Xpage=99>

At*torn" (#) , v. i. [OF. atorner , aturner , atourner , to direct, prepare, dispose, attorn (cf. OE. atornen to return, adorn); \'85 (L. ad ) + torner to turn; cf. LL. attornare to commit business to another, to attorn; ad + tornare to turn, L. tornare to turn in a lathe, to round off. See Turn , v. t. ] 1. (Feudal Law) To turn, or transfer homage and service, from one lord to another. This is the act of feudatories, vassals, or tenants, upon the alienation of the estate.

Blackstone.

2. (Modern Law) To agree to become tenant to one to whom reversion has been granted.

Attorney <Xpage=99>

At*tor"ney (#) , n. ; pl. Attorneys (#) . [OE. aturneye , OF. atorn\'82 , p. p. of atorner : cf. LL. atturnatus , attornatus , fr. attornare . See Attorn .] 1. A substitute; a proxy; an agent. [Obs.]

And will have no attorney but myself. Shak.

2. (Law) (a) One who is legally appointed by another to transact any business for him; an attorney in fact . (b) A legal agent qualified to act for suitors and defendants in legal proceedings; an attorney at law .

&hand; An attorney is either public or private . A private attorney , or an attorney in fact , is a person appointed by another, by a letter or power of attorney, to transact any business for him out of court; but in a more extended sense, this class includes any agent employed in any business, or to do any act in pais , for another. A public attorney , or attorney at law , is a practitioner in a court of law, legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court, on the retainer of clients. Bouvier . -- The attorney at law answers to the procurator of the civilians, to the solicitor in chancery, and to the proctor in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, and all of these are comprehended under the more general term lawyer . In Great Britain and in some states of the United States, attorneys are distinguished from counselors in that the business of the former is to carry on the practical and formal parts of the suit. In many states of the United States however, no such distinction exists. In England, since 1873, attorneys at law are by statute called solicitors .

A power , letter , or warrant , of attorney , a written authority from one person empowering another to transact business for him.

Attorney <Xpage=99>

At*tor"ney (#) , v. t. To perform by proxy; to employ as a proxy. [Obs.]

Shak.

Attorney-general <Xpage=99>

At*tor"ney-gen"er*al (#) , n. ; (pl. Attorney-generals or Attorneys-general) . (Law) The chief law officer of the state, empowered to act in all litigation in which the law-executing power is a party, and to advise this supreme executive whenever required.

Wharton.

Attorneyism <Xpage=99>

At*tor"ney*ism (#) , n. The practice or peculiar cleverness of attorneys.

Attorneyship <Xpage=99>

At*tor"ney*ship , n. The office or profession of an attorney; agency for another.

Shak.

Attornment <Xpage=99>

At*torn"ment (#) , n. [OF. attornement , LL. attornamentum . See Attorn .] (Law) The act of a feudatory, vassal, or tenant, by which he consents, upon the alienation of an estate, to receive a new lord or superior, and transfers to him his homage and service; the agreement of a tenant to acknowledge the purchaser of the estate as his landlord.

Burrill. Blackstone.

Attract <Xpage=99>

At*tract" (#) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attracted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Attracting .] [L. attractus , p. p. of attrahere ; ad + trahere to draw. See Trace , v. t. ] 1. To draw to, or cause to tend to; esp. to cause to approach, adhere, or combine; or to cause to resist divulsion, separation, or decomposition.

All bodies and all parts of bodies mutually attract themselves and one another. Derham.

2. To draw by influence of a moral or emotional kind; to engage or fix, as the mind, attention, etc.; to invite or allure; as, to attract admirers .

Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze. Milton.

Syn. -- To draw; allure; invite; entice; influence.

Attract <Xpage=99>

At*tract" , n. Attraction. [Obs.]

Hudibras.

Attractability <Xpage=99>

At*tract`a*bil"i*ty (#) , n. The quality or fact of being attractable.

Sir W. Jones.

Attractable <Xpage=99>

At*tract"a*ble (#) , a. Capable of being attracted; subject to attraction. -- At*tract"a*ble*ness , n.

Attracter <Xpage=99>

At*tract"er (#) , n. One who, or that which, attracts.

Attractile <Xpage=99>

At*tract"ile (#) , a. Having power to attract.

Attracting <Xpage=99>

At*tract"ing , a. That attracts. -- At*tract"ing*ly , adv.

Attraction <Xpage=99>

At*trac"tion (#) , n. [L. attractio : cf. F. attraction .] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation.

&hand; Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, --

(1.) Attraction of gravitation , which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart.

(2.) Magnetic , diamagnetic , and electrical attraction , each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity.

Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, --

(1.) Adhesive attraction , attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance.

(2.) Cohesive attraction , attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion.

(3.) Capillary attraction , attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction.

(4.) Chemical attraction , or affinity , that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules.

2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction.

Newton.

3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence .

4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature.

Syn. -- Allurement; enticement; charm.

Attractive <Xpage=99>

At*tract"ive (#) , a. [Cf. F. attractif .] 1. Having the power or quality of attracting or drawing; as, the attractive force of bodies .

Sir I. Newton.

2. Attracting or drawing by moral influence or pleasurable emotion; alluring; inviting; pleasing. " Attractive graces." Milton . " Attractive eyes."

Thackeray.

Flowers of a livid yellow, or fleshy color, are most attractive to flies. Lubbock.

-- At*tract"ive*ly , adv. -- At*tract"ive*ness , n.

Attractive <Xpage=99>

At*tract"ive , n. That which attracts or draws; an attraction; an allurement.

Speaks nothing but attractives and invitation. South.

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Attractivity <Xpage=100>

At`trac*tiv"i*ty (?) , n. The quality or degree of attractive power.

Attractor <Xpage=100>

At*tract"or (?) , n. One who, or that which, attracts.

Sir T. Browne

Attrahent <Xpage=100>

At"tra*hent (?) , a. [L. attrahens , p. pr. of attrahere . See Attract , v. t. ] Attracting; drawing; attractive.

Attrahent <Xpage=100>

At"tra*hent , n. 1. That which attracts, as a magnet.

The motion of the steel to its attrahent . Glanvill.

2. (Med.) A substance which, by irritating the surface, excites action in the part to which it is applied, as a blister, an epispastic, a sinapism.

Attrap <Xpage=100>

At*trap" (?) , v. t. [F. attraper to catch; \'85 (L. ad ) + trappe trap. See Trap (for taking game).] To entrap; to insnare. [Obs.]

Grafton.

Attrap <Xpage=100>

At*trap" , v. t. [Pref. ad + trap to adorn.] To adorn with trapping; to array. [Obs.]

Shall your horse be attrapped . . . more richly? Holland.

Attrectation <Xpage=100>

At`trec*ta"tion (?) , n. [L. attrectatio ; ad + tractare to handle.] Frequent handling or touching. [Obs.]

Jer. Taylor.

Attributable <Xpage=100>

At*trib"u*ta*ble (?) , a. Capable of being attributed; ascribable; imputable.

Errors . . . attributable to carelessness. J. D. Hooker.

Attribute <Xpage=100>

At*trib"ute (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attributed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Attributing .] [L. attributus , p. p. of attribuere ; ad + tribuere to bestow. See Tribute .] To ascribe; to consider (something) as due or appropriate ( to ); to refer, as an effect to a cause; to impute; to assign; to consider as belonging ( to ).

We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it. Abp. Tillotson.

The merit of service is seldom attributed to the true and exact performer. Shak.

Syn. -- See Ascribe .

Attribute <Xpage=100>

At"tri*bute (?) , n. [L. attributum .] 1. That which is attributed; a quality which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in, a person or thing; an essential or necessary property or characteristic.

But mercy is above this sceptered away; . . . It is an attribute to God himself. Shak.

2. Reputation. [Poetic]

Shak.

3. (Paint. & Sculp.) A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure; as, a club is the attribute of Hercules .

4. (Gram.) Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective.

Attribution <Xpage=100>

At`tri*bu"tion (?) , n. [L. attributio : cf. F. attribution .] 1. The act of attributing or ascribing, as a quality, character, or function, to a thing or person, an effect to a cause.

2. That which is ascribed or attributed.

Attributive <Xpage=100>

At*trib"u*tive (?) , a. [Cf. F. attributif .] Attributing; pertaining to, expressing, or assigning an attribute; of the nature of an attribute.

Attributive <Xpage=100>

At*trib"u*tive , n. , (Gram.) A word that denotes an attribute; esp. a modifying word joined to a noun; an adjective or adjective phrase.

Attributively <Xpage=100>

At*trib"u*tive*ly , adv. In an attributive manner.

Attrite <Xpage=100>

At*trite" (?) , a. [L. attritus , p. p. of atterere ; ad + terere to rub. See Trite .] 1. Rubbed; worn by friction.

Milton.

2. (Theol.) Repentant from fear of punishment; having attrition of grief for sin; -- opposed to contrite .

Attrition <Xpage=100>

At*tri"tion (?) , n. [L. attritio : cf. F. attrition .] 1. The act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion.

Effected by attrition of the inward stomach. Arbuthnot.

2. The state of being worn.

Johnson.

3. (Theol.) Grief for sin arising only from fear of punishment or feelings of shame. See Contrition .

Wallis.

Attry <Xpage=100>

At"try (?) , a. [See Atter .] Poisonous; malignant; malicious. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Attune <Xpage=100>

At*tune" (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attuned (<?/) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Attuning .] [Pref. ad- + tune .]

1. To tune or put in tune; to make melodious; to adjust, as one sound or musical instrument to another; as, to attune the voice to a harp .

2. To arrange fitly; to make accordant.

Wake to energy each social aim, Attuned spontaneous to the will of Jove. Beattie.

Atwain <Xpage=100>

A*twain" (?) , adv. [OE. atwaine , atwinne ; pref. a- + twain .] In twain; asunder. [Obs. or Poetic] "Cuts atwain the knots."

Tennyson.

Atween <Xpage=100>

A*tween" (?) , adv. or prep . [See Atwain , and cf. Between .] Between. [Archaic]

Spenser. Tennyson.

Atwirl <Xpage=100>

A*twirl" (?) , a. & adv. [Pref. a- + twist .] Twisted; distorted; awry. [R.]

Halliwell.

Atwite <Xpage=100>

A*twite" (?) , v. t. [OE. attwyten , AS. \'91tw\'c6tan . See Twit .] To speak reproachfully of; to twit; to upbraid. [Obs.]

Atwixt <Xpage=100>

A*twixt" (?) , adv. Betwixt. [Obs.] Spenser .

Atwo <Xpage=100>

A*two" (?) , adv. [Pref. a- + two .] In two; in twain; asunder. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Atypic, Atypical <Xpage=100>

A*typ"ic (?) , A*typ"ic*al , a. [Pref. a- not + typic , typical .] That has no type; devoid of typical character; irregular; unlike the type.

Aubade <Xpage=100>

Au`bade" (?) , n. [F., fr. aube the dawn, fr. L. albus white.] An open air concert in the morning, as distinguished from an evening serenade; also, a pianoforte composition suggestive of morning.

Grove.

The crowing cock . . . Sang his aubade with lusty voice and clear. Longfellow.

Aubaine <Xpage=100>

Au`baine" (?) , n. [F., fr. aubain an alien, fr. L. alibi elsewhere.] Succession to the goods of a stranger not naturalized.

Littr\'82.

Droit d'aubaine (<?/) , the right, formerly possessed by the king of France, to all the personal property of which an alien died possessed. It was abolished in 1819.

Bouvier.

Aube <Xpage=100>

Aube (?) , n. [See Ale .] An alb. [Obs.]

Fuller.

Auberge <Xpage=100>

Au`berge" (?) , n. [F.] An inn.

Beau. & Fl.

Aubin <Xpage=100>

Au"bin (?) , n. [F.] A broken gait of a horse, between an amble and a gallop; -- commonly called a Canterbury gallop .

Auburn <Xpage=100>

Au"burn (?) , a. [OE. auburne blonde, OF. alborne , auborne , fr. LL. alburnus whitish, fr. L. albus white. Cf. Alburn .] 1. Flaxen-colored. [Obs.]

Florio.

2. Reddish brown.

His auburn locks on either shoulder flowed. Dryden.

Auchenium <Xpage=100>

Au*che"ni*um (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/, fr. <?/ the neck.] (Zo\'94l.) The part of the neck nearest the back.

Auctary <Xpage=100>

Auc"ta*ry (?) , n. [L. auctarium .] That which is superadded; augmentation. [Obs.]

Baxter.

Auction <Xpage=100>

Auc"tion (?) , n. [L. auctio an increasing, a public sale, where the price was called out, and the article to be sold was adjudged to the last increaser of the price, or the highest bidder, fr. L. augere , auctum , to increase. See Augment .] 1. A public sale of property to the highest bidder, esp. by a person licensed and authorized for the purpose; a vendue.

2. The things sold by auction or put up to auction.

Ask you why Phryne the whole auction buys ? Pope.

&hand; In the United States, the more prevalent expression has been "sales at auction," that is, by an increase of bids (Lat. auctione ). This latter form is preferable.

Dutch auction , the public offer of property at a price beyond its value, then gradually lowering the price, till some one accepts it as purchaser.

P. Cyc.

Auction <Xpage=100>

Auc"tion , v. t. To sell by auction.

Auctionary <Xpage=100>